Idea

Bee Gees | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 9, 1997)
• Original Release Date: 1968
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Polydor / Umgd
• ASIN: B000001FNE
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #176,767 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Let There Be Love

2. Kitty Can

3. In The Summer Of His Years

4. Indian Gin And Whisky Dry

5. Down To Earth

6. Such A Shame

7. I've Gotta Get A Message To You

8. Idea

9. When The Swallows Fly

10. I Have Decided To Join The Airforce

11. I Started A Joke

12. Kilburn Towers

13. Swan Song

Editorial Reviews

Deleted in the U.S., this is a German pressing of their top20 1968 album featuring the top 10 hits 'I Started A Joke' &'I've Gotta Get A Message To You'. 13 tracks total.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 1968 And A Third Triumphant Album!, January 27, 2007

By 

Martin A Hogan "Marty From SF" (San Francisco, CA. (Hercules)) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Idea (Dig) (Audio CD)

Wrapped in a snug fold-out digipak, this Rhino re-issue of Bee Gees Idea is a wonder to behold. Being the third album by the three brothers, Rhino has beautifully remastered the original into one CD that has all the original thirteen songs in Stereo and Mono. These are different sounding recordings and not simply Stereo condensed into Mono. Classics like, "I've Gotta Get A Message To You" and "I Started A Joke" is given new life.

Disc 2 contains fantastic Alternate Versions and previously unreleased material. It's interesting to compare "I've Gotta Get A Message To You", "Kitty Can", "Let There Be Love" or "Idea" to the original takes. Also include on album for the first time are singles, "Jumbo" and "The Singer Sang His Song". Other new delights are the rocking, "Bridges Crossing Rivers" and "Chocolate Symphony". "Completely Unoriginal" is `tongue in cheek', being one of the most original songs the Bee Gees have ever written. Also of note is the rare instrumental, "Gena's Theme" and two classic Coke commercials. With 39 songs and a running time of over 100 minutes, this is a long awaited release. "I've Gotta Get A Message To You" went to #8 on the Billboard Charts and "I Started A Joke" went to #6! The album hit #17 in the USA and #4 in the U.K.! Also includes a colorful booklet packed with trivia, history, album and single photos as well as comments from Barry and Robin Gibb.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb!, March 20, 2007

By 

Michael A. Clark (Londonderry Northern Ireland) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Idea (Dig) (Audio CD)

As a hard core Bee Gees fan, I would think this item was excellent anyway. I have the original release and I was very surprised to hear this re-issue. It has the original album in both mono and stereo which makes for good listening. Although a very early Bee Gees release, this sounds just as fresh today as it did back then. I really loved the 2nd disc in this item. It has some alternate mixes and some unreleased tracks. Apparently the Bee Gees did a couple of Coke commercials which are included on the 2nd disc. If you're as big a Bee Gees fan as I am, then you will want to have this reissue.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars THAT'S A GOOD IDEA!!!, November 16, 2002

By 

Jared Insell (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Idea (Audio CD)

By late 1968 the Bee Gees had already had a string of hit singles as well as two fairly successful albums 'The Bee Gees 1st' and 'Horizontal'. In the summer of 1968 the Bee Gees scored their biggest hit to date with I'VE GOTTA GET A MESSAGE TO YOU (which reached #8 in the U.S). Captilizing on the single's success the band released their third album 'Idea' in September (it reached #17). Unlike their bright lush pop rock debut, or their colder more hard rocking follow up, 'Idea' was more of a transitional stage for the group as their are various styles of music on this album.

The band decided to put I'VE GOTTA GET A MESSAGE TO YOU on the U.S. version of the album. For whatever reason it was omitted on the U.K. version in place of the blues rocking SUCH A SHAME which is the only song not sung or written by the brothers Gibb (it was written and sung by the group's guitarist Vince Melouney) Thankfully we can enjoy both songs on this cd version. The other hit here is the follow up single I STARTEDA JOKE which was released in December of '68 (it followed the same success peaking at #6). Apart from those two hits the rest of the album is filled with wonderful progressive pop rock of contrasting styles. LET THERE BE LOVE is a beautiful love ballad that could have been a single. Both Barry and Robin's voice are great on this one! The bouncy KITTY CAN and the catchy INDIAN GIN AND WHISKY DRY are nice simple novelty pop tunes. IN THE SUMMER OF HIS YEARS and DOWN TO EARTH are tragic ballads. DOWN TO EARTH is a particular is a great song. The title track IDEA is an awesome catchy rock 'n roll song. WHEN THE SWALLOWS FLY is a nice tune with a great Barry Gibb vocal. I HAVE DECIDED TO JOIN THE AIRFORCE is a novelty rock tune but it's by no means the best track here. Still it's listenable. KILBURN TOWERS is an excellent smooth jazz experimentation Barry's vocals are once again wonderful here. The last track SWAN SONG is a beautiful yet powerful ballad that appropriately closes 'Idea'.

The Bee Gees were definetly becoming more confident as a group third time around. Their song writing was improving and 'Idea' was another success for the Gibbs. Although the two singles GOTTA GET A MESSAGE and I STARTED A JOKE are the true highlights, other songs like LET THERE BE LOVE, DOWN TO EARTH, IDEA, WHEN THE SWALLOWS FLY, KILBURN TOWERS and SWAN SONG proved that 'Idea' wasn't just two singles and bunch of filler.

Overall 'Idea' is a good effort by The Bee Gees. Whether or not it's their best 60's album is up to you but it is worth getting thats all I can say! Highly recommended.